Beachside Benefactors

BY Paul Rogers

Boca Raton is an affluent Florida beach city of 100,000 people 45 miles north of Miami. Blessed with natural beauty and excellent amenities, it’s long been a sought-after destination for retirees. More than a quarter of Boca Raton’s population are 65 or older, including many Vietnam War veterans.

Southern Nomad 25 Chapter 1125 in Boca Raton was co-founded by its sole president to date, Norm Dubuc, in 2010. “When we started, it took us almost two years to get [the minimum required] 25 members through phone calls and meeting with veterans,” Dubuc, whose 23-year U.S. Air Force career included two Vietnam War tours, said. “A lot of the veterans who served in Vietnam don’t really talk about the war.”

Nonetheless, through tireless outreach and regular activities, the chapter today has 157 members, of whom about 35 are regularly attendees at the monthly meetings, Dubuc said. He gives much of the credit for the chapter’s recent accomplishments to its vice president, Alvin Roberts, who served as Marine Corps squad leader in Vietnam.

Photo courtesy Alvin Roberts

Roberts, a Florida native, wanted to be a Marine since childhood. After losing his best friend, fellow machine gunner Roy Smith of Birmingham, Alabama, in Vietnam, he has served veterans in many ways, including for forty years as an administrator in the Miami VA Healthcare System. Actively involved with VVA almost since the organization’s 1978 founding, he served as a vice president and chaplain of chapters in Miami and Fort Lauderdale before joining Chapter 1125 four years ago.

“When I came to the chapter, I let them know that I am a builder,” said Roberts, who received the VVA National Veteran of the Year Award at the 2009 National Convention in Louisville. “I came to build and that’s something that I have done. And I’m proud of that.”

Roberts, who also serves as the chapter’s chaplain, is quick to commend Dubuc’s leadership abilities, and to credit one of the chapter’s directors, Thomas Yarosz, as his invaluable righthand man. Both Roberts and Yarosz live in Miami but travel up to Boca Raton for all chapter meetings and functions. With Dubuc now 87, Roberts and Yarosz publicly represent the chapter.

“Whenever a veteran passes away, we will take it upon ourselves to go to the national cemetery or community cemetery to represent our chapter,” Roberts said. “Thomas and I have been doing this for so many years that we know what to do in the presentation of final rites and what goes along with it.”

Chapter 1125’s principal fundraising activities are invaluable for community relations and as therapeutic validation for chapter members.

Dubuc, an avid reader of mystery novels, came up with the idea of book giveaways after realizing that he was often throwing away books that were almost like new. He secured permission to stage giveaways at a Publix Super Market in Boca Raton, and the chapter sets up there for two or three weekends each year, giving away 150-200 books each time. While the books, which are donated by members and supporters, are offered without charge, a donation bucket raises hundreds of dollars for the chapter.

“It’s not only profitable, but you get to meet the public in general,” Roberts said, “and it’s a learning experience for the kids.”

Similar events in which chapter members offer water bottles to the public raise $300-$400 over the course of a weekend. These occasions often also inspire spontaneous expressions of gratitude from passersby – a stark and welcome contrast to the treatment that Vietnam War veterans received when they came home.

“It’s unbelievable. We meet people and they come, and they talk to us,” Dubuc said. “Compared with when we came back from Vietnam, people today are so nice to us.”

Photo courtesy Alvin Roberts

A portion of the money raised by Chapter 1125 goes toward helping homeless Vietnam War veterans and their families. Chapter members, including Roberts and Yarosz—who once was unhoused—go into the community and to homeless encampments to connect with Vietnam veterans who might need help. They supply them with what Dubuc dubs a “toilet pack”: a backpack containing a blanket, toothpaste, a toothbrush, soap, shampoo, and other hygiene and comfort items.

Chapter 1125 also is known for its support of area JROTC cadets, with individual scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,000, as well asbattalion expenses. When the JROTC battalion at Miami Northwestern Senior High School, Roberts’ alma mater, needed military service flags earlier this year, for example, he procured them.

The chapter’s Color Guard takes part in local holiday commemorations and its Honor Guard attends veterans’ funerals. The chapter also commissions plaques that it presents to individuals and organizations who make substantial donations.

Photo courtesy Alvin Roberts

Dubuc and company employ multiple means to counter the dwindling number of Vietnam War veterans by working to retain existing members and actively recruiting new ones.

One initiative is booking guest speakers at monthly meetings, such as VA service officers, who fill members in on service-related benefits and compensation. “It’s amazing how many veterans are out there and don’t get a penny,” Dubuc said. “They don’t know anything about it, and we try to promote this – that’s our biggest thing.” Chapter 1125 serves pizza at its meetings, which Dubuc says is perennially popular among attendees.

“Right now, Thomas and I are in the process of recruiting,” Roberts said early in July. “With the Fourth of July coming up, this is a good time for us to recruit.” Roberts and Yarosz, always wearing chapter logo shirts, take VVA application forms out into the community where they seek to identify and recruit Vietnam War veterans.

“You’d be surprised who’s out there that you don’t know is a Vietnam veteran,” Roberts said. Chapter 1125 also helps Vietnam War veterans in need. As a commissioned Notary Public with decades of experience in VA administration, Roberts specializes in helping veterans with VA paperwork.

“Whatever we can do – we do not pick and choose,” said Roberts. “It takes a Vietnam veteran to connect with another one. You’ll be surprised how they open up to me.”

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